Civil rights leader, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, endorsed the Occupy Wall Street movement during a visit to Nebraska, including all its offshoots.

Occupy Wall Street, according to the Reverend Jesse Jackson, is just a new name for an old game: trying to close the gap between those in power in America and those on the outside.

“In this vacuum there is something called, ‘Occupy’ stepping in,” Jackson told reporters during a news conference on the Lincoln campus of the University of Nebraska. “And, really, Occupy is simply canaries in the mine crying out for help, crying out for answers and crying out for solutions.”

Jackson compared the current wave of Occupy protests, which have spread into Omaha and Lincoln, with protests carried out during the civil rights movement that began in the late 1950s. He pointed out that those demanding civil rights for the disadvantaged staged sit-ins in public places.

Jackson encourages Occupy Lincoln

Jackson said the Occupy movement could become a flexible vehicle for protest.

“So, in many ways, Occupy is a spirit. It’s an idea. And it floats into wherever the gap is,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the Occupy movement will be effective as long as it remains non-violent, disciplined and focused.

After speaking at the University of Nebraska, Jackson paid a visit to Occupy Lincoln in the Centennial Mall near the state Capitol.